Unreal
by Usami
Summary: /rewrite of the Doppelganger story, Archie based/ Everything appeared to be normal with Tails. But they should know better than anyone that nothing is ever as it seems.
1. Prologue

Hey all! This is my first "Sonic the Hedgehog" story, and pretty sure it will be my only one. The reason I'm writing this is because I was reading my sister's comic book one time, and came across the story of the doppelganger Tails, and I thought it was a cool idea. But when I came to the part where the real Tails came back, I couldn't help but think what a totally bogus ending that was, and decided to write the way I thought it should be. I don't know, maybe I'm not better than they are, but I might as well try, right? Okay, here goes. . . .

* * *

(**POV**)

How can this be? I, the great Mammoth Mogul. . . . being beaten by these three children? Inconceivable!

Yet that was the reason I had to dispose of them. I knew they would be this much of a threat to my plans. Especially the young fox. The chosen one, chosen out of so many by the fabled ancient walkers. I didn't believe the rumor, but why take the chance? So I trapped him away, along with the echidna, the current guardian of the floating island, and the hedgehog, who finally disposed of the mad Doctor Robotnik.

But they somehow escaped, and all three reached a more powerful form, using magical rings and the energy from my Chaos emerald.

And now, because of the three of them, I am being beaten. This can't be happening. Not to me! Impossible!

The young fox and I are alone in the emerald chamber of the floating island. So simply it would have been to absorb those two emeralds, and I could have beaten the Chosen One. However, using the Chaos Syphon created by Dimitri, he attempted to dwindle my power. But the outcome was not as anyone would have intended.

The Chaos Syphon exploded, and the detonation absorbed the energy of the emeralds, including my own. I could feel myself being drawn along with the two emeralds into a more massive one, created from the stored energy of the syphon. I could not allow it to end this way!

Looking up, I saw the Chosen One, who called himself Turbo Tails. It was all _his _fault that this was happening to me! There had to be………something I could do……but what?

Something finally came to mind, just as the darkness was passing over me. This would take a lot of energy, but with my merging with the chaos emeralds, and the sweet taste of revenge of the future's horizon, I had a feeling it would be worth it……

* * *

"A doppelganger."

Merlin gasped, looking up at the spirit of Athair floating above. "A what?"

The spirit nodded. "I'm afraid so. The young fox that you hold in your arms is not your real nephew, but his doppelganger."

Merlin looked down at 'Tails'. "But…if this is a doppelganger, where is the real Tails?"

"It is uncertain. It seems he cannot be traced. And, so far as the doppelganger knows, he thinks that he _is_ the real Tails."

The fox mage looked up at the spirit of the past guardian, then back at the doppelganger.

"So what are we going to do about it now?"

"There's nothing we can do," Athair replied. "Until we can find the real Chosen One, we will have to return this Tails back to his family and friends."

"But, this Tails doesn't know that he isn't the real one?"

"No. He seems to have every memory that the real Tails has. But because we do not know when he replaced the real Chosen One, we do not know how many memories this Tails has that the Chosen One does not. But everything should be normal since he has all the Chosen One's memories. Hopefully, no one will know until we can find the real Tails."

Yet, Merlin had a feeling that something was going to happen to upset that hope.

**TBC**

So, I know that some of what I said isn't up the comic book par, but this is my story. So, later!!!


	2. Chapter 1

Yadda yadda yadda. So I don't own anything. And the whole "Chosen One" ordeal isn't critical to this story at all, just letting you know. Okay, disclaimers are done! On with the story!

* * *

Sonic sighed, lying in his bed with arms under his head. 'Man, he thought, 'am I _bored_! There's really nothing to do.'

It had been pretty quiet in Knothole for the past few weeks. There was really nothing to do anymore.

Even if things had gotten pretty strange lately…but that was another story entirely.

At that moment, though, there really _wasn't_ anything to do, and it was driving Sonic up a wall.

Sitting up, he realized that he hadn't seen Tails around all day. Wondering where his little buddy was, he sped out of the house, looking for the twin-tailed fox.

The blue hedgehog noticed something by the lake. Heading over there, he found the young fox sleeping by the shore of the tarn.

Sonic sighed, shaking his head. He couldn't blame Tails, really. After all, the young fox seemed really tired lately. Maybe because he wasn't getting much sleep.

Bending over, he was about to prod the little fox awake, when he suddenly was jolted out of his sleep by a nightmarish vision, sitting up quickly.

"Whoa!" the fox said, panting for air, trembling.

"Tails!" Sonic said, holding the fox-boy's shoulders. "Tails, are you okay?"

He looked up at his friend. "I…I-think so, Sonic," he replied meekly.

The blue hedgehog helped the fox to his feet. "Was it that nightmare again?"

"Uh huh…"

"The one with the dark cave?"

"In the storm…yea…"

"And the glowing eyes?"

Tails nodded. "What do you think it means?"

Sonic shrugged. "Dunno…Why don't we head home and talk about it?"

The fox nodded again, as the two of them slowly headed home.

As they were walking, Sonic's foot happened to dislodge a large pebble. He would kick it ahead of him, catch up to it, and kick it again. It was stupid, but it was something to do.

"Still thinking about the dream?" the hedgehog asked after a while.

Tails nodded. "I can't help _but_ think about the dream. I think…I think it's trying to tell me something."

"Like what?"

"I'm not sure. It's like…a location of some kind…"

"A location? For what?"

"That's the part I don't understand."

An unnerving silence settled over the both of them, as the pebble clattered on the ground after Sonic had kicked it again.

He then kicked it again, a little harder than the other times. It sailed through the air, crashing through one of the glass windows of his house, and landed inside.

"Uh oh…" Both knew that there was at least someone in the house who would find the pebble and the broken window. They just hoped it wasn't…

"Sonic! Miles!" Sonic cringed at the sound of his mother's robotic voice. Even though Bernie was roboticized, she still _acted_ like a mother.

She was standing at the doorway, holding the pebble. "Mind explaining, Sonic? Miles?"

'Miles' was the name used only when someone was really mad. Other times, the fox was just known as Tails.

Sonic was about to say something, but was interrupted by Tails. "Were you talking to me?" the fox asked.

Bernie through the pebble to the ground. "You and Sonic."

"But you called me 'Miles'."

Bernie nodded. "That's your name."

But Tails shook his head. "No it's not. My name is Tails."

Sonic looked over at him. "That's the nickname I gave you. You're real name is Miles."

But Tails shook his head again. "My name is Tails," he repeated.

Sonic was getting a little confused now. "Tails, you do know that that's just a nickname, right? That's the nickname I gave you when we were little."

"Tails is the name my parents gave me."

And Sonic could tell that that's what he really believed. The set look in his cerulean eyes gave that away.

'What's going on?' Sonic wondered.

**TBC**

I was talking with Ken Penders one time (at a comic convention) about the whole Doppelganger-Tails thing, and he told me that the Doppelganger had no idea that his name was "Miles," and he could have believed that his name was something else. I liked this idea (although I didn't like that suggestion of names that he gave me), so I put it in here. That's the only way they could find out something was different about him anyway.

Sorry if this seemed kinda weird. I promise future chapters will be better.


	3. Chapter 2

Hey all! Sorry for not updating. School and whatnot.....anyway, enjoy!

* * *

Sonic sighed, closing the door quietly behind him, so not to wake Tails. The young fox was exhausted from all the testing he had been through.

Because of the strange name incident, Tails went to Dr. Quack to see if he could determine why Tails couldn't remember his real name. Amnesia was a possibility, but most unlikely. Normally, amnesia affected more than just the name, but Tails remembered everything else besides that.

After running a test, Dr. Quack found something strange about the fox. However, unable to determine exactly what it was, the doctor requested to run more tests.

Against the wishes of Bernie and Jules, Tails agreed to allow the doctor to run tests on him to try and find what was wrong. However, after two weeks of nonstop tests, Sonic decided that Tails needed a break.

After making sure Tails was asleep, Sonic left and headed over to Dr. Quack's place to see if he at least had an idea of what was wrong.

Reaching the clinic, Sonic entered and headed straight for the doctor's office. He found the doctor sitting at his desk, looking over some papers. No doubt those were the result from the various tests performed on the fox.

"So, what's the verdict, Doc?" Sonic asked.

Dr. Quack didn't look up from his work. "I wish I knew," he replied, finally placing the papers down. "Other than one thing, Tails appears perfectly normal."

"Other than one thing?" the hedgehog repeated curiously. "What's that mean?"

The duck stood from his desk, a piece of paper in his hand. Handing the paper to Sonic, he said, "Look at this."

Taking the paper, the teen looked at it. After a moment, he turned it upside down, trying to understand it. "It's a squiggle line……"

With a sigh, the doctor took the paper, turning it the right way. "It's an energy graph. The signature shows the energy patterns of any specific object. This is the energy chart of any living creature."

Looking at it again, Sonic's eyes followed the line as it went from high to low to high to low, mostly between two black dotted lines. "So?" he finally asked.

Walking back to the desk, the doctor took two more sheets of paper. Handing another one to Sonic, he took the previous one. "Now, look at Tails' energy."

Studying the graph, the hedgehog's emerald eyes widened slightly. The energy line was a constant straight line, high above the top dotted line and almost touching the top of the page.

"Tails' energy is abnormally high, as you've noticed, it far exceeds that of any other normal creature." The doctor handed him another piece of paper. "Now look at this one."

Taking the sheet, Sonic studied it, then compared it to Tails'. "They're the same…" he said.

Dr. Quack nodded. "Tails' energy and this object's energy are equal. But Sonic…do you know what this object is?"

The hedgehog shook his head.

"It's a Chaos Emerald…"

Emerald eyes widened. "A Chaos Emerald….?!"

The doctor nodded again. "The energy that Tails is giving off is the exact frequency of a Chaos Emerald, and equal in power, even when Tails is dormant. But he doesn't seem to be aware of it at all."

"How is that possible?" Sonic asked, tearing his eyes away from the charts to look at the doctor. "How can Tails be giving off Chaos Emerald energy?"

"The only explanation would be if Tails _was_ a Chaos Emerald, but as far as other tests show, he is just regular Tails."

The teen shook his head. "This is unreal…It doesn't make any sense."

"I know it doesn't…"

"Maybe…maybe he absorbed some of the Chaos Emerald's energy, and that's why he's giving it off…"

"Not likely. You absorb the energy of the Emerald's all the time. That's how you turn into Super Sonic. But it's impossible for your body to retain that energy, which is why you revert to normal so quickly. Tails is the same way, or at least he should be. But, according to the chart, it doesn't appear to work that way."

"So…how…?"

"I know as much as you do, Sonic. Besides that, Tails appears completely normal. I could run more tests, but I'm not sure how much good that will do…"

Nodding, Sonic handed him back the papers. "Do what you can…"

Sonic ran as fast as he could, passing by many people in a rushing wind. He had no destination in mind, he just needed to clear his head.

'Tails is like a living Chaos Emerald,' he thought as he ran. 'But how? What's going on?'

He skidded to a stop in a secluded place by the lake. Sitting on a log, he looked out, still thinking over Dr. Quack's words.

'It doesn't make any sense.' He threw a rock into the lake. 'Tails doesn't seem any different, but how can no one notice if he's radiating like a Chaos Emerald? How did _I_ not notice?'

That was when another thought occurred to him. 'How long has this been going on? How long has Tails been like this?'

The teen felt slightly angered at himself for not noticing anything from the beginning, whenever that was. 'I have no idea how long Tails hasn't remembered his real name or how long he's been giving off Chaos Emerald energy. I had no idea about it at all…And I call myself his best friend…'

A loud whirring sound disturbed the peace, and a harsh wind blew over the area. Sonic looked up as the whirring roar passed over his head.

What he saw a blue airplane overhead.

Knowing exactly what the plane was, and who was flying it, the hedgehog ran after it. It was flying pretty low, and if the plane flew long enough, it would pass by a cliff. If he could get to the cliff before the plane did…

Passing the plane, Sonic reached the place before Tails did. He saw the plane pass by, close enough to the precipice. He jumped, grabbing onto the end of the plane.

Feeling a slight shift in weight, Tails checked the controls. Nothing seemed wrong. 'Maybe I'm just imagining things,' the fox thought to himself.

"Tails!" he heard a voice say over the roar of the engine.

Surprised, Tails turned to look at where the voice came from. "Sonic?!" he said. "What are you doing here?"

"Following you," the other replied with a smile. "Where are ya going?"

The younger looked ahead of him at the sky. "To get some answers…."

"Answers? What kind of answers?"

"I know there's something wrong with me…"

The teen flinched slightly, unnoticed by the other. "How do you know that?"

"I had a dream. It wasn't my usual nightmare. Someone was trying to tell me something."

"What would that be?"

"He wouldn't tell me in the dream, so I'm going to meet him."

"But how do you know he'll have the answers you need?"

The young fox paused for a moment. Finally, after a long silence, broken only by the roar of the engine, he replied honestly, "I don't, really…But I'm willing to take the risk if it means finding the truth…"

Sonic nodded. "Sounds good to me…"

Tails looked up at his friend. "What?"

The hedgehog smiled. "You don't think I'd let you go at this alone, did you? I'm coming too."

The younger blinked slightly, then smiled. "Thanks Sonic."

"No problem. That's what best friends are for."

Nodding, the pilot turned his attention back to the sky, flying to an unknown destination…At lest unknown to Sonic.

"So Tails……what exactly happened in your dream?"

"Well," the fox replied, "there was this echidna……"

_TBC_

* * *

Hope you liked it! Just gonna answer a few questions. See, there's a reason the doppleganger doesn't remember Tails' real name, but it won't be explained till near the end....or something around there. And, I don't think I'll be doing any pairings...... So thanks for reading! Please review! 


	4. Chapter 3

Wow! I can't believe that it's been over two years since I've updated this story! Sorry about that folks. I don't really have control over my writings and the inspiration for those writings. Sometimes I'll have this really weird or interesting idea, and I'll be all fired up to write it. But then after a certain point, I lose all the inspiration for it and it just kind of dies. Luckily though, I was re-inspired to start this up again. I don't know if I'll finish it, but I'll do my best.

It's been a long time since I've read any of the Archie-based Sonic comics, especially the old ones that help this story along. So a lot of this (as I've mentioned before) probably won't keep up with the comic continuum. Despite that, though, I hope it ends up all right.

Anyway, I'm done now. Enjoy!

* * *

The sounds of furious and upset voices yelling could be heard throughout all of Knothole, causing all the inhabitants of the village to watch as Sonic seemed to angrily storm off towards his hut with Tails following behind him.

"Sonic, I'm sorry!" the fox said as he hurried to try and catch up with the other.

"Whatever…" the hedgehog snapped back, not looking at him.

"I'm serious, I didn't know!"

The azure hero didn't reply and instead ignored the other as he continued towards his hut.

Tails finally stopped following the teen a few feet away as Sonic reached the door, opening it and heading inside. "Sonic……" the fox said softly.

The hedgehog froze for a moment, standing in the doorway with his back facing the other.

Sighing softly, the fox looked at his friend. "I'm really sorry……I didn't know…And I don't know what I should do now…What…I mean…I don't know what else to say…"

"Then don't say anything…" Sonic replied softly, though the resentment in his tone was clear. "Nothing you say can change what's happened…" The other villagers watched as the hedgehog continued inside, closing the door behind him and leaving the fox to stand by himself.

Everyone in the village remained silent, questions roaming in their minds about what possible event could cause two such close friends as Sonic and Tails to argue that way. The tension left behind by the duo's words seemed to trap them all as the villagers lingered, wondering what would happen.

After what seemed like an eternity passed, Bunnie Rabbot slowly approached the fox. As she did so, she noticed that the boy's body seemed to tremble slightly.

"Tails…honey…" she said softly, placing her metallic hand on the boy's shoulder, "what's wrong…?"

"Nothing…" he replied softly, keeping his head hung low to avoid meeting her eyes.

"It had ta have been something, what with what went on between ya'll…Why don't we go an' talk about it?"

"I don't feel like talking right now…" he whispered, rubbing his shadowed eyes with a clenched fist while pulling away from the rabbit's touch. His two tails suddenly twirled, creating the familiar propeller he was famous for. Quickly he ascended into the air, flying above the rest of the villagers and heading away from Knothole.

"Tails…!" Bunnie called, but sighed knowing it was of no use. Turning, she walked over to the door of Sonic's hut and headed inside. She wanted to find out what was happening…

* * *

_Carefully, the Tornado landed in the vast desert area, arousing the dust that lay beneath them. As the propeller slowed to a stop, Sonic jumped off the plane, looking around._

_"Tails…!" he said over the dying engine. "Are you sure this is the place?"_

_"It should be…" the fox replied as he jumped out of the cockpit and landed next to the hedgehog. "At least, this is where my dream said to go…"_

_"But why here of all places?"_

_"Um…Something about wanting to talk to me without other people around, or something like that…"_

_"What?" the hero asked, looking at his younger friend. "They wanted you to come here by yourself?"_

_"Well…Yeah…I think…But, I'm glad you're here anyway…"_

_Sonic smiled a bit, ruffling the boy's hair. "Sure thing, Tails…"_

_"Well, now, what's this?" a mysterious voice said around the two._

_Turning around, Sonic watched as a cloaked figure seemed to appear from within the cloud of dust that was raised by their landing, slowly walking towards them. As the dust settled, the teen was able to just make out the slightly familiar face hidden beneath the dark hood, and his eyes widened slightly._

_"Hey…!" Sonic said as the figure drew closer. "I know you…We've met before, haven't we?"_

_"Well," the figure said, standing before the two, "I would not say we have actually met…But yes, we have encountered each other once before…"_

_"So you're the one I'm supposed to meet…?" Tails asked softly, looking at the cloaked figure curiously._

_Turning his dark eyes on the younger, the figure replied, "Indeed…However, I do believe that you had been asked to come alone…"_

_Stepping up, Sonic placed his hand on Tails' shoulder. "Yeah, sorry about that…It's my fault…I just kind of tagged along…"_

_The cloaked one rubbed his chin delicately, eyes focused on the two. "I see…" he said after a while. "Perhaps, then, it would be wise to discuss this another time…"_

_"What…?" the fox asked. "Why can't we talk about it now?"_

_"Yeah…" the hedgehog said. "We came all this way for some answers…"_

_The figure walked past the two heroes, folding his arms across his chest as he seemed to think. Finally, he said, "What I have to say is not good news…And I am afraid of how you both will react…"_

_The two friends looked at each other, exchanging glances of curiosity in their eyes before looking back at the character in front of them. "Whatever it is, I'm sure we can handle it…" Sonic said, shrugging a little. _

_Turning to the two, the figure frowned slightly. "Such carefree attitudes are commendable…But this is hardly the time for such…"_

_"What is it exactly that you need to tell us?" the young genius asked softly. "If it can help me at all, I'm willing to hear it no matter what it is…"_

_The cloaked individual sighed softly, shaking his head. "I can see that you both are determined to hear what I have to say…" Looking up, he said, "Very well…I am aware of the strange circumstances that have been surrounding you both recently…"_

_"Which ones?" Sonic asked, glancing quickly at his young friend._

_Turning to Tails, the figure said, "Such as the instance where you do not remember your birth name, and the reoccurring nightmares you have been having these past few weeks…" Looking at Sonic, he continued, "As well as your discovery of the young one's similarities to the Chaos Emeralds…"_

_The fox turned to his taller companion. "What? What discovery?"_

_Sonic flinched slightly, rubbing the back of his head. "Yeah, about that…The tests that Doc Quack ran on you showed that your energy is similar to a Chaos Emerald, or something like that…"_

_"When did you find that out, Sonic?"_

_"Just before we came here…While you were sleeping, I went to see the Doc, and that's when he told me…I was going to tell you eventually, but I wanted to wait until we were done here…"_

_"But how can that be?" Tails asked, looking at the cloaked figure. "That's impossible, isn't it?"_

_"Perhaps…" the man replied, "but perhaps not. I believe that all these things have a connection to each other…"_

_"How so?" Sonic asked, impatience growing within him. He just wanted to get the answers and leave._

_"Well…Their connection is the reason why all of these events have happened in the first place…And that reason is because…"

* * *

_

Sonic's emerald eyes snapped open as the sound of a sharp rapping on the door jarred him out of his thoughts. Grumbling a bit, he quickly pulled the blanket over his head. "I don't wanna talk about it!" he called.

He groaned softly as he heard the creak of the door entering, followed by the heavy metal clank on the floor as one of his parents entered. He was just glad that his back would be facing whoever came in for he really didn't want to talk about what he knew was on everyone's mind.

"Sonic," he heard the robotic voice of his mother say, "what's going on between you and Tails?"

"It's nothing…" he mumbled.

"Bunnie told us that you and Tails had an argument."

"It's _nothing_…" he repeated, praying his mother would just leave him alone.

"No Sonic," Bernie said firmly, "_nothing _doesn't cause two close friends like you and Tails to argue like that…_Nothing_ doesn't cause Tails to run off…"

Pushing the blanket off from over his body, the younger hedgehog sat up in his bed, turning to look at his mother. "What?" he asked, his emerald eyes wide. "Tails ran off? Where did he go?"

"Calm down…" Bernie said, sitting on the bed beside her son. "Your father and a few others went to look for him. But why don't you tell me what's going on first?"

The teen sighed softly, looking down at his hands. "You wouldn't understand…"

"Well, of course I wouldn't understand, Sonic…How can I if you don't tell me what's going on?"

Glancing at his mother, the teen shook his head slightly. "I…I just don't know…"

"Sonic, what could possibly cause you and Tails to argue like that?"

Sonic felt his teeth clench slightly as his patience was once again wearing thin. "You really wanna know, Mom?" the teen snapped. "You wanna know why I'm mad? Okay fine! Maybe I'm mad because of the fact that this Tails isn't real!"

Bernie froze. "What…? What do you mean, Sonic?"

The teen sighed, placing a hand to his forehead. "Tails…isn't really who we think he is…"

"I don't understand, Sonic…"

"He's a…what was that word? A…doppelganger…He's not…really Tails…"

The robotic woman frowned deeply. "Wait a minute…Where did you hear that?"

The hero's fingers curled up tightly as he pushed the edge of his palm hard against his brow. "Well…'Tails' and I had gone to see this guy…because 'Tails' had a dream to meet him…He knew about all the strange things that were going on…and _why_ those things were happening…"

* * *

_"And that reason is because that the young Tails standing here…is not the real Tails at all…"_

_"What…?" both Sonic and Tails exclaimed. "What do you mean?"_

_"We have discovered…that this young one is only a doppelganger of the original…We are unsure of the whereabouts of the real Tails, or how you were created…But Sonic's discovery of your likeness with a Chaos Emerald may suggest that you were created with the help of the Chaos Emeralds…_

_"We also believe that your creator linked your mind to that of the original to create you so that you would act, speak, and think like the real Tails. However, for some unknown reason, the memory of Tails' real name has escaped you, possibly because the link between the two of you is relatively weak. We are still not completely certain…_

_"I was compelled to tell you this now because of the reoccurring nightmare that you have been having as of late. That nightmare could very well be the location of the original Tails, but the connection between you is still rather faint that the location is not clear. Even I am not able to determine the true position of the real Tails, and I am unable to determine what has happened to him. As of now, it appears that the only way to find the true Tails…is through you…_

_"We don't know how long the real Tails has been missing or how long you have been taking his place…We are unsure of his condition and if there are any means to reach him…All we are sure of is that he needs to be found soon, and that _you_ are the only one who can do that…"

* * *

_

"But how do you know that all of what he said is true?" Bernie asked softly.

"I…I don't know…" Sonic replied, his hand clenching the blanket beside him. "I didn't…wanna believe it…but…when I saw the look in the guy's eyes…I…I knew…that he was telling the truth…somehow…I saw that Tails believed him too…I guess he never knew that he wasn't…real…until now…"

"Then there's no real reason to be mad at him, is there? If he didn't know he wasn't real…then it isn't his fault…"

The teen shook his head slightly. "I…I'm not really angry with _him_…"

"You're not?" the robotic mother asked, a bit surprised. "Then why…?"

"Because…he was just there…The real person I'm mad at…is myself…"

"Sonic…" she said, placing a metallic hand on her son's shoulder, "none of this is your fault, either…you shouldn't blame yourself…"

The younger hedgehog clenched his fists tighter. "Yeah right…How can I call myself Tails' best friend? I never even realized…that something was wrong…And even now, there's nothing I can do to help him…I don't know if he's okay or not…I don't know where he is or how to find him…And thanks to me, that Tails that _is _here with us ran away…" He sighed softly, placing a hand to his forehead again.

"Sonic, look…No one knew anything about this, all right? The other Tails didn't even suspect anything was different, so there was no way you could have…You shouldn't be so hard on yourself…And when you do find the real Tails, you'll figure out what to do…"

Slowly, the teen glanced up at his mother.

"And when your father and the others find Tails, you'll be able to apologize, okay?"

"I should help them look for him…"

"You've had a tiring day, Sonic…" Bernie replied, getting to her feet. "You should get some rest first."

"But…"

"You go on and get some rest…I'm sure they'll find him. Just rest for a little bit, okay?"

"Well…" The teen hesitated slightly. "I guess so…" he finally replied as he slowly lay down on his bed.

Seeming to smile slightly, Bernie quietly began heading for the door.

"Mom…?"

She stopped for a moment, looking towards her son. "Yes, Sonic?"

"If I…fall asleep…and Dad comes home with Tails…will you wake me up?"

"Of course…"

"Okay…Thanks Mom…" With that, the teen turned to lie on his side facing the wall.

Turning again, the robotic mother silently left the room, carefully closing the door behind her.

* * *

Sonic gasped and sat quickly up in bed, jolted from his slumber by the deafening boom that rattled the walls and window of his room. Looking outside, the hedgehog blinked when he saw how dark it had become outside as well as how loudly the wind was howling. He nearly jumped slightly as lightning flashed and brightened the gloomy sky for the briefest of seconds, quickly followed by another thunderous crash that momentarily drowned out the forlorn cry of the gale whipping through the trees.

"Tails…?" he called, sliding out of bed and slipping his red and white sneakers on. He knew of the fox's fear of thunder and lightning and wanted to comfort his friend as he always did during such storms. "Tails, are you here?"

Looking around, he finally realized that the other's bed was still neatly made. Curious, the teen headed for the door.

"Mom? Dad?" he called, walking into the living room. Seeing his two robotic parents sitting and talking, he stopped and stood silently until they noticed him.

"Mom, Dad…Where's Tails…?" Sonic asked, looking around.

"Um…about that, Son…" Jules said, rubbing the back of his head, "we…weren't able to find him…"

Sonic's emerald eyes widened. "What…? What do you mean you couldn't find him?"

"We looked, Sonic…" the robotic male said, "we looked for him in Knothole and in the forest surrounding Knothole…But while we were looking, the winds started picking up…And sometime later, we received a storm warning…We had to come back here…"

"But what about Tails? You mean to tell me he's still out there in _that_?" the teen demanded, pointing to a window as lighting flashed and thunder boomed.

"We had to come back, Son…I promise, when the storm clears, I'll…"

"No!" Sonic said. "_No_! I can't wait that long!" Turning away from his parents, the teen sped back to his room, opening his closet door and pulling out his forest-green cloak. Putting it on quickly and pulling the hood over his head, the teen hedgehog sped back to the living room, opening the door.

"Sonic!" Bernie exclaimed as the gust rushed into the small room. "Where are you going?"

"I have to find Tails!" the teen replied, yelling to be heard over the roaring wind. "He's scared to death of lightning! I have to find him!"

"Sonic!" Jules yelled after his son, but couldn't stop the teen as he raced out the door.

_TBC_

* * *

So how was it? I hope it was okay. I actually had this written up all ready, but for some reason I just couldn't get it posted up. Oh, and I would like to mention that this story isn't really centered around the fact that 'Tails' is a doppleganger, but the drama that surrounds it. I guess I'm afraid that it may seem a little odd that I'm putting it out now that it's a doppleganger. 

Anyway, please review, and I'll do my best to get the next chapter up.


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